COMMUNITY DIALOG: NORTH COUNTY

Hospital districts should collaborate

In response to “ ‘Hospital of the future’ ” (Aug. 20): Tri-City Hospital’s board majority trembled at the sight of Attila the Hun’s invading hordes, aka Palomar Health. I suggested that Tri-City’s administration conduct surveillance on the enemy during Palomar Medical Center’s open house.

However, both Tri-City and Palomar Health were formed to provide quality health care to district residents. Rather than no-holds-barred competition, they should be collaborating to enjoy success in their parallel missions.

It’s heartless to prevent Palomar’s storefront clinics within Tri-City’s district boundaries when Tri-City has no interest in providing similar access to care. It’s hypocritical for Tri-City to promote robotic surgery in a Temecula shopping center, far outside district boundaries. It’s insane to deny Tri-City’s inevitable patient loss to state-of-the-art Palomar Medical Center.

It’s paramount that Tri-City Hospital’s board majority be replaced. No more Coulter, Anderson and Reno – vote them out!

Randy Horton

Board member

Tri-City Healthcare District

Luxury vs. values

So the banana supply is analogous to electrical power. That was implied by Roger Hedgecock in “Flex Alert madness” (Opinion, Aug. 17), where he short-circuited reason to decry SDG&E’s sensible flex alert during the heat wave. He crossed the wires, issue-wise, by associating the temporary energy overload with government control, alternate energy claims and President Obama’s policies.

This illuminates the problem of American arrogance, the “I want” proclivity of a child in the face of real limitations and exigencies. It places an insisted-upon effect ahead of a not-always-possible cause – just make it possible. While that put a vehicle on Mars, it also puts whatever is demanded under the contingency of surrender to the power that can grant or deny it. It puts luxury in the place of values, the most common downfall of past civilizations.

A positive suggestion would be for the people to own their power plants and oil refineries, but that is contrary to the capitalist myth of being humanity’s lifeblood, and of course is “communism.” Americans would rather worship what is destroying them because it runs common to their conceit, and continue clamoring for electricity while their light of freedom goes out.

Edward Karlson

Oceanside

Modules of concern

Thanks for the interesting article explaining some of the virtues of prefabricated construction, in this case as they are being applied to the construction of a beautiful new home in La Jolla Shores (“Prefab home: easy does it,” Business, Aug. 18). Your reporter makes reference to the “green” credentials of the project, explaining that the home will use less energy, water and materials than other homes.

I question the real sustainability of this 4,100-square-foot house with a three-car garage. It’s three times larger than it needs to be for two people! We need to look at the size of our houses if we really want to live more sustainably.

Morten Gjerde

Solana Beach

As the prefab construction technology matures, so will much of the traditional home building industry. Certainly the on-site environmental benefits, lower cost to the consumer, precision workmanship and more efficient use of resources, cited by your article are “good things.” Yet to what degree will these benefits be offset by the reduced demand for local workers?

Presently the modules are assembled in Utah – so our loss is their gain. But what happens when companies offshore their construction? As soon as it becomes more profitable to have the soon-to-be standardized pieces made overseas, and shipped/trucked on-site, homebuilders will switch en masse to this method.

Furthermore as the crews who “stitch together” the modules will likely need special training and tools, companies will import them as well, hopefully from regions of the U.S. with lower prevailing wages.

Omar Firestone

Chula Vista

A first step on immigration

In response to “U.S. starts program for young illegal immigrants” (Aug. 15): As a teacher of immigrant students for many years, I applaud President Obama’s deferred action for immigrant youth. As of this week, productive young people who have grown up in this country and graduated from our high schools or served in the military will be able to pursue their dreams in the U.S. For at least two years, they may live without fear of deportation to a country they may not even remember. It is an important step toward a just immigration policy.

We must acknowledge that immigrants make a huge contribution to our culture and our economy. We must stop treating them as “other” and demonizing them – they are human beings in search of a better life.

We also need to take an informed look at what our government is doing. It detains more than 200,000 people a year. This has meant that children can come home from school and find their parents gone, that wives must sometimes search for weeks to find out what happened to their husbands, and that people can languish in detention for months with no access to an attorney. This is immoral.

It is time for the federal government to act to provide pathways to legal residency and citizenship for undocumented people now in this country. It is time for all of us to stand on the side of justice and compassion.

Nancy Harmon

Del Mar

Political juxtaposition

Ryan’s plans embrace Ayn Rand, an avowed atheist (stating “reason” and “self-interest” as our model for laissez-faire capitalism), while running on a right-wing, religion-based, ideological ticket. Logic seems to elude the New Republicans. But I suppose if one has a narrow agenda and even narrower frame of reference, it destroys all logic. I say, give them more tea.